Happy graduation, birthday, anniversary, independence, vacation day...and orzo salad with lemon, feta and pine nuts.

Well, you know I have a lot of catching up to do.  So, after friendly nudges, sweet "we miss you" e-mails, comments from my mom and husband, and straightforward "when are you going to start blogging again?," I am finally going to give up my blogging hiatus and get things back in gear.  I have no excuse, but that I work better on a schedule, and have been largely schedule-less since May. 

Here's a quick re-cap, in pictures.  

Summer Starts with a Graduation Celebration!

We celebrate our 6th Anniversary in Chattanooga, TN with a stay at Chanticleer Inn, great food, hiking, and city-exploring.  

Visits with family include a trip to Arrington Vineyards near Nashville, the Naval Museum in Pensacola, pre-Independence day celebrations, family meals, and time with friends.

 Independence day celebration in Philadelphia include a picnic near the Philadelphia Museum and a fireworks show over the Schuylkill River.  

Since returning from our Southern tour, my days have been relatively unhurried.  Window units notwithstanding, the heat still seems to slow things down to a molasses speed.  The job search, household chores, cooking (and apparently blogging) have all responded in kind, following snaillike paces of their own.

While I've occasionally turned on my oven for an occasion (pulled pork for Independence day, cookies for Bible study, brownies for my husband's guy-weekend retreat), it has been largely avoided on account of it's kitchen-stifling tendencies.  So, we've enjoyed our fill of grilled fare, sandwiches, and dishes which require minimal heat, like this delicious orzo salad.  

This has to be one of my favorite summer sides, one that I make often in warmer weather, and always elicits recipe requests.  The flavors just work so well together, it can be served cold or at room temperature, and goes well with almost anything you could throw on a grill.  

Orzo Salad with Lemon, Feta and Pine Nuts

Barely adapted from Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup orzo
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives 
1/4 finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup basil, julienned 
2 ounces good quality feta cheese, crumbled

In a medium pot, cook the orzo to al dente in salted water.  Drain pasta.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar.  Pour over the warm pasta, and let the pasta cool to room temperature.  

Add the pine nuts, raisins, olives, onion, basil and feta to the pasta, stir well.  Store Orzo salad in the refrigerator.  

This salad can be made up to two days in advance.  Salad is best at room temperature, but can be served cold.  

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Packing a Road Trip Picnic

This past weekend, my husband and I went on a trip to our Nation's Capital. I had never been to Washington, D.C. until this outing, and it did not disappoint.

Whenever we go on road trips, we generally try to stay away from fast-food stops. So, even on trips that just take a couple of hours, we pack a "road trip picnic," which can be eaten in the car or carried on sight-seeing strolls. This is what we brought on this trip:

Ham and provolone sandwiches with mustard and Claussen pickles on French rolls
Grapes
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Kettle Chips
Home-made Kettle Corn
Dried Fruit
Apples and Bananas
Cherry Chocolate Chunk cookies
Provolone cheese, goat cheese and Wheat Thins
Dry roasted peanuts
Bottles of water
A bottle of wine (to enjoy at the hotel after a long day of walking)

When you pack your road trip picnic, make sure that you only have enough refrigerated items that you can eat within 10 hours or so, or that you don't mind tossing anything that has not been eaten. Alas, we had to throw away some perfectly wonderful goat cheese and provolone.

Also, when you are packing, you don't want to have to do a lot of cooking. I made the kettle corn the day before our trip, and put together the sandwiches right before we left. Everything else, I picked up from the store or bakery or pulled out of our pantry.

If you take a road trip picnic, here are a few other items that you will want to remember to pack in your picnic basket:

Napkins
Forks
Cheese knife
Cutting board
Extra Ziploc bags
Trash bags
Wine bottle opener
Plastic cups (for the wine)
A kitchen towel or a few paper towels
A couple of freezer packs in your cooler

Do you take road trip picnics? If so, what do you pack?